Mercedes AMG F1 W03

[Mr.S]

Nico's race pace was Blinding Fast. No 2 ways about it. Maybe the track was better in the morning & after 4 days of running it has rubbered in more.

Michael says the car is very consistent in high speed corners. Hope Mercedes can work on the mechanical bit,slow speed corners & traction. Tyre Degradation is an issue,front lefts are graining severly than Red Bull.

[thomin]

Hi guys, first time poster, long time reader and a massive Mercedes fan here.

Let me weigh in on how to interpret the test results. Of course it's impossible to draw definitive conclusions form these tests. The fanboy in me wants to interpret the test as evidence for Mercedes' ability to win races, the realist in me fears that we could end up with another 4th place in the constructors championship.

But I want to be positive, so let me lay out the reasons why I think that Mercedes has what it takes to produce a winning car...maybe not title winning, but winning non the less.

First of all, while Mercedes was a good chunk slower than Red Bull, the car is not just a mild evolution like the RBR8, but a significant step forward with a very different layout compared to the W02, so the potential that is in the car is much higher and mere set-up work can yield more benefits, as can be seen in the difference between Rosberg's and Schumacher's race simulation.

Secondly, while all teams are probably sandbagging (and particularly the three teams that were ahead of Mercedes last season), I think Rosberg's race simulation gave us a glimpse of what the W03 can do.
Look at Rosberg's last stint. He started out really quick, but then his times deteriorated quickly, despite being on hard tires. Either his tires were very old, or he slowed down deliberately. Maybe he forgot for a moment that he wasn't supposed to go that fast. In any case, he started his last stint with a low 1:24 time. That's more than 2 and a half seconds quicker than the fastest lap of the 2011 Spanish GP. Even taking into account that Vettel wasn't trying to get the fastest lap and that conditions weren't as favorable, that's still a lot, especially when you think about the lack of an EBD in 2012 and the fact that it was only the second race sim for Mercedes.

So while I don't believe that Mercedes will unveil some secret weapon for Melbourne, I think the fundamentals of the car are really there and when Mercedes can convert 100% of the car's potential into actual race pace, I can see it grabbing a win or two on merit on tracks that suit the car.

[kilcoo316]

I think much of the problem last year was simply being unable to release the car's potential due to the wheelbase and c.g. issues.

[pocketmoon]

He started out really quick, but then his times deteriorated quickly, despite being on hard tires. Either his tires were very old, or he slowed down deliberately. Maybe he forgot for a moment that he wasn't supposed to go that fast.

Ross Brawn,Autosport ""We are trying to find that balance of performance over a stint with tyre degradation. Do you push hard at the beginning and the tyre falls away, or do you try and conserve the tyres and keep a consistent lap time? What's the actual quickest way of doing it, and what set-up do you need to achieve that?"

[Mestrades]

Rosberg:

"We want to win, so we are definitely not there yet, but we are making progress and that is good to see"

"The team is in the right direction, and the car build, the work they have done at the factory over the winter is so much better than previous years. It is clean, the car build is performing as expected and all these things [are good], so we are looking at big things as a team."

"It is not frustrating; it is a great motivation to be part of this push that is happening at this team.

"The progress is evident so that is really nice to see and everyone is motivated as a result. You see that progress and that is extra motivation, because you think okay, things are happening, now things are moving forward and we can get there."

[Richard]

I've cleared out all the c**p relating to the team - we've had complaints.

Anything that talks about team members, history, W01, W02, or general hopes for the year have been moved to ...

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12070

Please do a double check before you post. Do not post in this thread if your comment isn't about a physical feature on the car in this picture. Note that there are no humans in this picture.

[Pierce89]

I think it will take a few race and 1 or 2 updates to really start harvesting the DF this new layout can bring them.

[Pierce89]

Mercedes unlike RBR,Mclaren,Ferrai,Force India,Lotus do not have an extra element on top of their Rear Wing. No cheap way to increase downforce.

What do you mean by an extra element on the top of the rear wing. Regs limit it to two elements. I think right now with a new layout, their mechanical set-up(rake etc.) is not yet mature enough to harvest max DF. I also believe they'll need a couple updates to really start unlocking the DF in the flow structures of a brand new platform.(Same problems as Ferrari but to a lesser extent.)

[Ferraripilot]

Has anyone heard what trap speeds are or specific sector kph are of W03? I'm wondering if it has the same straight line speed as its predecessor. I would think with the F-duct it would indeed be a little better but it's difficult to say

[issues4]

Has anyone heard what trap speeds are or specific sector kph are of W03? I'm wondering if it has the same straight line speed as its predecessor. I would think with the F-duct it would indeed be a little better but it's difficult to say

Guess these are down the main straight
Mercedes 320.5
Toro Rosso 319.5
Caterham 318.5
Force India 317.5
Sauber 315.8
McLaren 314.9
Ferrari 311.2
Williams 311.2
Red Bull 310.3

[Metalrulz]

is it possible to blow the exposed floor near the sidepods and have an opening there which can later redirect the exhaust fumes to the diffuser or the slotted diffuser ?

[diego1960]

Surely because of the tiddier rear/narrower sidepods there would be increased downforce at the back of the car allowing them to use the new FW isn't that so? That is without un-balancing the car. I expect/ed that W03 would be better in terms of downforce than W02 but then again this can not be combined with the top speed on straights that are recorded. Am I right? Unless we talk about a super car which I am definately sure it is not, it looks decent and with a big chance of improving.

As for the graining/tyre issues, have they changed the front suspension from last year? If I remember correctly they had fixed the issues at the end of the year. I am asking because I haven't heard anything from the team apart from rumors posted here about mercury interliked suspensions. Anyone know for sure?

[Metalrulz]

Surely because of the tiddier rear/narrower sidepods there would be increased downforce at the back of the car allowing them to use the new FW isn't that so? That is without un-balancing the car. I expect/ed that W03 would be better in terms of downforce than W02 but then again this can not be combined with the top speed on straights that are recorded. Am I right? Unless we talk about a super car which I am definately sure it is not, it looks decent and with a big chance of improving.

As for the graining/tyre issues, have they changed the front suspension from last year? If I remember correctly they had fixed the issues at the end of the year. I am asking because I haven't heard anything from the team apart from rumors posted here about mercury interliked suspensions. Anyone know for sure?

they managed to reduce the rear tyre wear by raising the suspension pickup poins.. had expected them to do the same with the w03

[Crucial_Xtreme]

Interesting Mercedes goes from this


to this


It totally looks like this piece is a duct. Notice the seams of the part where it attaches to the beam wing.

[hardingfv32]

If it is a duct, does it help remove air from the engine cover area or help the beam wing?

Brian